Outgrowing hard disk space

[Sam Goddard]

Hello,

I have a computer with a rather limited hard disk drive (6gb) & I am at its
limit. I would like to install a larger hard drive but I realise that the C
drive will still need some extra breathing space - windows makes use of
this for personal settings programs &tc. Is there an easy way to transfer
the data, operating system & whole shooting match from my C drive onto the
new drive or does anybody hae any suggestions about what I might do?

Thanks

Sam

 

[Guest]

My advice would be to install the new, larger capacity hard-drive and
transfer any important files etc onto the new drive. Then just use the tiny
sixgb drive as a system drive only and use the new drive for storage. That
way, if a disaster was to befall you in the future it is nothing to flatten
and rebuild the drive without fear of losing important files.

 

[G.Beat]

Hello,

I have a computer with a rather limited hard disk drive (6gb) & I am at
its limit. I would like to install a larger hard drive but I realise that
the C drive will still need some extra breathing space - windows makes
use of this for personal settings programs &tc. Is there an easy way to
transfer the data, operating system & whole shooting match from my C drive
onto the new drive or does anybody hae any suggestions about what I might
do?

Thanks

Sam

IN addition, examine the amount of memory (RAM) that you have in this
computer. For WinXP SP2 ... I recommend at least 512 Mb with larger hard
drives ( > 80 Gb)

gb

 

[Sam Goddard]

Thanks for that but neither of these solutions get around the problem of
having no space on the system drive for expansion. Can the 6gb drive be
ghosted onto the 40gb drive & then removed so that the 40gb drive acts as
the system drive?

Thanks

Sam

 

[kevink]

More than likely when you buy a new drive it will include
a utility to "Clone" the existing drive onto the new
drive. As much as I hate the idea, your 6gig is really
garbage after that.

Although you could reformat it, and put just the Windows
Swap file on it.

Further note, the 6g drive should be put on an IDE
channel different from the new HD.

KlK, MCSE

 

[Rock]

Hello,

I have a computer with a rather limited hard disk drive (6gb) & I am at its
limit. I would like to install a larger hard drive but I realise that the C
drive will still need some extra breathing space - windows makes use of
this for personal settings programs &tc. Is there an easy way to transfer
the data, operating system & whole shooting match from my C drive onto the
new drive or does anybody hae any suggestions about what I might do?

Thanks

Sam

The new drive should come with a utility on a floppy to copy everything
from the old drive.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a computer with a rather limited hard disk drive (6gb) & I am at its
limit. I would like to install a larger hard drive but I realise that the C
drive will still need some extra breathing space - windows makes use of
this for personal settings programs &tc. Is there an easy way to transfer
the data, operating system & whole shooting match from my C drive onto the
new drive or does anybody hae any suggestions about what I might do?

What I use is BootIT NG, from http://www.BootitNG.com ($35 shareware -
30 day full functional trial)

Download, to its own folder, extract from the zip, run the bootitng to
make a boot floppy.

With the new drive plugged in as slave/secondary, boot the floppy,
Cancel Install, entering maintenance, then click on Partition work.
Highlight your C:,Copy, then on left select the new drive (HD1),
highlight the Free Space in it, and Paste.

At this point highlight that new copy, and resize up to a suitable
size for C:. But don't go overboard on a big disk; I'd suggest 15GB as
plenty if you put data files on another partition that you make later in
XP ( in Control Panel - Admin Tools - Computer Management, select Disk
Management)

Now click on 'View MBR' and in it highlight the entry for this new C
partition and click the 'Set Active' Click 'Write Standard MBR' and
Apply.

Close out, swap the disks to make the new one the one that boots, and
reboot into XP.